When I migrate content not to another project content folder, but to desktop, all the asset links are broken, even if all assets are contained in the same subfolder
How are we supposed to migrate content to zip file for delivery to the Marketplace?
**Full Situation, Preparing Marketplace Items For Someone Else**
I am prepping assets for a friend, and I can't send him a zip file with all the uassets I've created, cause all the links get broken!
So how is someone supposed to prepare Marketplace assets for someone else who is not as familiar with the engine, but is the actual vendor who should be receiving the profits?
Rama
I havent tried yet myself but does it not work if you zip the folder you want to migrate inside the Content folder, and then carry and extract it to the target project’s Content folder?
Edit: Oh, that is actually how i shared the cow. Did it work for you when you put it in the Content folder?
I’ve been thinking about that, too. And I seriously wonder, if it wouldn’t be more beneficial for the client to receive the original FBX Files, PSD format textures and perhaps a blank Unreal Scene/Map containing all the (empty) materials. The client could then import what he wants and how he wants to, and he’d be able to tweak the textures. I wonder, how the asset shop will handle uploads, since I have not (yet) contributed to Marketplace, but hope to, soon.
In my opinion that kills the purpose of having an engine specific marketplace. Sure you can share the source FBX and PSD files if you like but you should also set things up so that the user can just bring uassets into the editor, drop into the level and use immediately, and then tweak them as they wish.
I get your point, however, at least the inclusion of textures should be a must, since a) you need the layered originals to tweak them, and b) I (and most other people), create textures 2x-4x the size they are later used in Unreal. These originals are too large to be used in-game, but they are useful as a base for any and all tweaks.
What I don’t like about Unreal/EPIC’s approach is that Unreal 4, as well as the content are sold, like it was childs-play to make a game. Sure, the community always made custom content and that’s what made Unreal Tournament great, but EPIC is selling the illusion that U4 is some plug-and-play device any idiot can operate.
Making a game is tough, it requires planning and experience. Mastering Unreal took me years, and I am still learning new things all the time. It’s complex technology and even though it will make EPIC a big buck, I think it would be fair to make that transparent to the public. After all, if you are honest about your product, people will buy it for what it is. Unreal 4 is the best engine I have ever worked with and it is worth more than the money. But you should stop advertising stuff like the marketplace, as if it is the game-creating wizard of Oz. Surely there will be great stuff on the marketplace, but the prime use for a marketplace should be for prototyping games, not delivering final content. And for prototyping you want core meshes and textures just as much, as you want pre-made packages.
This is off-topic here, but since you pointed it out I’m gonna reply here as well. I do agree with a part of what you said but I actually can’t accept that statement as a whole and here’s my reasons:
1. It’s not like the issue you mentioned was just came to life 5 months ago when Epic release UE4. In fact the issue was here for years, it just got slightly more obvious, otherwise there was (and always will be) other engines with said issues. My point is, if Epic didn’t attract some of these people, it’s not like they just stop wasting their time/money and put them in good use, not at all, they would just spend them on another engine.
2. I don’t know if you actually faced some of those type of people, but if you did, you know that it’s mostly their fault that they’re under this wrong impression, not engine makers.
I can assure you, if Epic came out and said “ok guys, we’ve built a great engine but it’s not for everyone, you better make sure you can make something with it before you start” or such phrase in any way, those guys would not smell honesty, nor transparency. All they can think of after reading that is “Ok, something’s wrong with this engine, so wrong that they had to say this beforehand. I better go use the EngineXYZ which there is no such statement about it”, that’s simply because they don’t know better, again, their lack of knowledge not someone else’s fault.
3. And last but not least, while like you said most of those people will never get anywhere in game development, and eventually get out of it one way or another, but not all of them. I personally know 2 guys that did in fact start with this very wrong impression, and despite my advice stayed and tried to work with the engine, but the difference was, they learned it the hard way, and after that they stick around, they understood how hard it is and they accepted it, and now they are doing just as fine as me.
Granted, this group of people are only a small portion of those guys, but if Epic took that route in the first place, this group will may never even have started back then. I think Epic knows your concern, but because of these examples, they rather introduce this group of people to game development which is good both for them and for Epic, and even for the industry in the long haul, and if that means some of the wrong group of people will follow them from EngineXYZ and then drop it, so be it, they were going to do that anyway, wherever they were.
Don’t know what others think about this matter, but that’s my point of view.
P.S. Sorry Rama if this is maybe hijacking your tread, but that wasn’t my intention.
At the same time - there are a TON of things you can’t do in the editor that are common tasks to prepare art for certain gameplay purposes. What if you want to, say, make one of the characters from a pack support the APEX clothing system? Without the FBX you’re screwed.
Another example is small pose-animations. I’m not an artist, but I know enough to be able to pose a character, keyframe it and get it exported for use as a bone layered blend. But without an FBX that’s also impossible.
I use that method a lot for single frame blend animations, stuff that doesn’t exist in the original character/pack, but which I can easily add… but I need the FBX.
There is no highjacking a thread! Rama’s problems have been solved and we have moved the discussion to another level. Obviously Jackie knows not a lot about making games, otherwise she would not suppose that you can make entire games from marketplace content. I mean - you probably can, but you might as well use Gamemaker then. What n00854180t wrote is what I feel, too. We have our own style and need to work on assets. And hardly anyone makes generic games in generic ways and can use pre-made content in his project.
Secondly, , your argument is ridiculous. Essentially you are saying, it is good to lie to people, because some of them will stick with the engine anyway or migrate to another engine that likewise lies to them. I would instead say that if nobody lied, there would simply be the truth to chose from, which is much better than any kind of pressure to decide between two half-truths.
I don’t know if we watched the same Unreal presentation, but that Asian muscle guy is simply ridiculous. He is giving us a lot of candy and always insists that everything is “on the fly” and “easy” (which it isn’t). Sure U4 is great and simple, compared to UDK, but UDK sucked *** in lots of ways. EPIC learned from their errors, but that doesn’t mean they created a tool for everyone. Take the new Unreal Tournament, for example - how many people do you think will sub to the engine, because they think they will become UT4 devs? Possibly millions. And maybe ten of them will actually contribute something! Maybe 100 out of 4 Million players will be able to work with the Editor and do more than a skinjob. That’s reality, but reality is not in favor when you need to sell more units at a lower price than ever before.
The trouble I have with EPIC’s approach is that the engine is so good, they should actually just stick to the facts and be the first company not to deliver this ■■■■■■■■ hype of their own product. Gearbox, for example, always hypes the **** out of each of their titles and most of them are ****. EPIC doesn’t need to do that. They are too good for it! Word about U4 will travel and reach everyone much more likely than some asian muscle dude, presenting us with “on the fly” features and “easy to do blueprints”.
We live in a time where everything is easy and customer friendly. But, we live in complex times too and deal with complex machines, and programs, such as U4. There is simply no point pretending these things are easy to understand, they involve years of practice and XP - and I simply think EPIC should state this truthfully. It’s a process and people should begin small. Stating this would get EPIC bonus points among the community and gamer crowd. Be the first honest company, worldwide ^^
I’m a “he”. And even though you may have more experience in game making than i do i never suggested that a full game can be made with marketplace content. I’ll be ignoring the rest of your posts and end the discussion for me here.
Where? I can’t see it, can anyone else? I’m not saying that at all, and my post is still available as proof.
You can read whatever you want from someone else’s word but it doesn’t make it theirs. Beside, I already gave you points #2 and #3 to think about, and you are just simply ignoring them altogether. Being ignorant doesn’t help you having a debate. If you are serious at all about your point of view, then read my post, and reply to it, simple as that.
I am simply sticking to my view, at least until someone gives me a valid reason otherwise, so far you’re certainly not giving any.
And even though you may have more experience in game making than i do i never suggested that a full game can be made with marketplace content. I’ll be ignoring the rest of your posts and end the discussion for me here.